


Tony Stark - Space Pirate

by RemingtonFae



Series: Space Avengers [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Gen, Space Pirates, pre-Pep/Nat probably, pre-science bros, probably, why is this happening to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RemingtonFae/pseuds/RemingtonFae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce Banner disappeared from the known universe after the horrific lab accident that almost cost him his life. Tony Stark spent years finding him, and was going to bring him back.</p><p>... also, a massive galactic conspiracy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony Stark - Space Pirate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [invinciblelronman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/invinciblelronman/gifts).



> Unbeta'd. Accidentally started writing something that had acquired a huge plot line.
> 
> ... i'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

“This is the fifth planet we’ve tried Tony. We don’t even know if he is in this  _ system. _ ” Pepper leaned back from her console and glared at the ceiling. “He doesn’t want to be found.”

“I’m sure he’s here Pep.” Tony’s grease smeared face popped into her field of vision. “I know it. I know he doesn’t want to be found… but that is only because he doesn’t know that I’m the one looking.”

Tony swung his leg back over his chair and began scanning for the radioactive isotopes that meant he could finally stop searching. 

It had been five years since Bruce Banner had disappeared from the known universe. He was one of The Council’s leading scientists in the search to recreate Dr. Erskine’s nanite program. After an explosively destructive lab accident which destroyed all the on-site data and nearly cost Bruce his life, he was on the run from The Council’s military branch for ‘misuse of government property’ - which was just code for ‘how dare you use the tech you developed to save yourself without our permission’. Unfortunately, the tech was imperfect. The nanites increased his healing and strength, saving Banner’s life, but when implanted into a body the radiation from the element used to power them altered their bioorganic-circuitry causing violent electromagnetic pulses. The pulses could destroy ship systems and wipe data. The radiation also caused extreme reactions in Banner’s neurochemistry - berserker rages, usually followed by blackouts.

There had been incidents - the military had gotten close a few times, and Banner had gotten himself out of trouble, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Tony had been tracking the aftermath of those incidents for years, trying to catch up. Bruce’s accident was… it was preventable. If The Council had told Tony what he was designing tech for - what he would be powering… hell, if they had been less concerned with compartmentalization and more considerate of the scientists in the program. Still, Tony felt responsible. 

The only upside to The Council’s nonsense is that he was the only person in the universe who knew about the radiation. He would be able to find Banner first… assuming he could narrow down the location to a planet. Banner was better at running than Tony was at searching, so it was taking longer than he’d hoped.

Now he’d left the seat of his multi-billion credit company, and was running operations out of the ship he’d built. Well… Pepper was doing most of the company business, between bouts of chastising Tony on his self flagellation and sweet talking local planetary governments to let them break atmo in search of ‘specific radioactive isotopes that may be dangerous to indigenous populations.’

“JARVIS, where are we on scan completion?” Tony pulled his attention back to his screens. 

“28% of the planet is cleared. Approximately 12 more minutes, Sir.” JARVIS was the second best decision he had ever made, after hiring Pepper. It had taken years to create the technology and programming to make a fully autonomous artificial intelligence. In the end he had made an entire ship to house JARVIS, integrating him completely - JARVIS could run the ship on his own if needed, mostly negating the need for a crew. Tony had done his best to program the essence of the original Edwin Jarvis into JARVIS -  the man was responsible for so much of the day-to-day raising of Tony as a child that it just felt right to have him instilled into the ship that cared for him now.

“Tony… What if he’s gone? Or… what if we find him, and he doesn’t want to come with us? What makes you think he’ll trust us?” Pepper turned in her chair, one long leg folded up to her chest, her arms hanging loosely over the seat back. “What if you can’t stop him running?”

“C’mon Pep. You know you’re the only person in the universe who can say no to me.” The words were barely out of Tony’s mouth when a loud chiming sounded from the screens in front of him.

“Sir, I have located a source of radiation that falls within the parameters of our search in the equatorial region of the largest group of island masses on this planet. Would you like me to direct us to the nearest area suitable for landing?” JARVIS displayed a map of the equatorial islands, and zoomed in to the appropriate section, already maneuvering the ship into position.

“We’re cleared by the local government for high atmosphere insertion, but not landing, Tony. If we’re going to get him and get out, we can’t be on the ground long.” Peppers hands were skimming across her station, flinging messages out to various contacts, preparing to buy them more time. “You better be extremely convincing.”

Tony flashed her a grin, and braced himself against the back of his chair when the ship shook through the process of entering the atmosphere.

“C’mon Pep. You know me. I’m the king of convincing.”

 

* * *

 

Bruce wiped the sweat off his forehead with the dusty front of his tee shirt, more concerned with comfort than cleanliness. A decade ago he was a soft and pale academic, spending his days in windowless but well funded labs and living on coffee and whatever rations he didn’t have to shop for - now he was building houses in a small village in a tiny outer system, eating whatever he could afford or grow, his skin bronzed by the strong equatorial sunlight.

The hard labor made him feel useful - his strength and healing were appreciated, and he found it easier to minimize the electromagnetic pulses with the increase in physical activity. Sometimes he could even control them, although he wasn’t keen on practicing that - the last time he tried to practice, he’d woken up naked, three systems away from where he’d started, with the wreckage of a military scout ship around him. 

Not his best day, but also not his worst. 

“Thank you, Mister B.” The young man whose family was going to move into this house handed him a metal cup filled with water. “This would have taken weeks longer without your help.”

Bruce drank the water gratefully, leaning back against the newly finished house, taking advantage of the shade. He’d been on this planet for almost two seasons, and had made a nice space for himself in this community. It was comfortable - maybe not physically, but he felt useful… and that was rare in his current circumstances.

He rested in the relative coolness provided by the shadow of the house, and listened to the bustling activity in the village. 

The sounds of screaming and running pulled him away from the house toward the main street. The majority of the villagers were running for their houses and hiding. He immediately saw the reason why - the sun glinted off a ship flying low over the islands, apparently preparing to land. They were licensed settlers, but generally any incoming ships spelled bad news for people living off the land on a planet like this. 

Bruce had more reasons to worry than most. 

He got a better look as the craft came closer. It was a design he’d never seen before. He wasn’t necessarily a spacecraft enthusiast, but since the accident he’d become well versed in the various vessels used by The Council, planetary governments, and helpful smugglers. This fell into none of those categories. It was flashy, but functional… and… talking?

“Hey Brucie! I know you're down there. Please stick around, okay? I know you’re rocking your disappearing act and all, but I’d really like to chat.” The unmistakable voice of the most well known businessman in the universe was echoing across the water, and speaking to him. Literally. “We’re going to touch down fairly close by, but if you wanna meet me on the beach, that would be really helpful.”

Bruce thought for a moment about running. He could. He had a bag in his small house that had supplies to get him off-planet. He had a boat stashed in a small cove that anyone else would have trouble reaching. He could run, and keep running. Or he could walk down to the beach where, for some strange reason, one of the most famous people in the universe was waiting for him. 

“Fuck it.” Bruce started jogging past the center of town toward the beach.

 

* * *

 

Tony was not nearly as confident as he seemed. Yeah, he was usually charming and persuasive, or arrogant and persuasive, or brilliant and persuasive… but rarely did he have to convince someone as brilliant as Bruce Banner. Bruce Banner who was infamous in the scientific community for accidentally becoming his own research and then outrunning the military when they came down on him. Bruce Banner who had been on the lam for years. Bruce Banner who had become an anti-Council folk hero. 

And Tony had finally found him. Tracked him to an innocuous agrarian system, on one of the tiny sea farming planets. Now Tony just had to convince Bruce to run in his direction.

Tony jumped out of the airlock as soon as JARVIS touched down in the small open field, and ran down the grassy path which led to the beach. Pepper's worried muttering was a low hum in his ear comm - apparently the local government was not pleased that they'd landed. 

Tony made it to the waterfront just as another man emerged from the thick bushes about 100 meters away. He had deeply bronzed skin, and a full head of dark curls. His pale shirt was streaked with dirt, his dusty brown trousers were tucked into dark scuffed work boots. 

“No wonder they couldn't find him, who the hell is that?” Tony was almost lost for words at the change. The various bulletins that had been posted, searching for information regarding Banner’s whereabouts, had all used the holograph taken for his Council Scientist ID. Sallow complexion, brown hair cropped close to his scalp for convenience, the slightly panicked and untrusting look of a scientist being forced to deal with bureaucracy - that was the image Tony had carried in his head when he combed through system after system. This man was almost completely unrecognisable as Bruce Banner.

Tony remained skeptical of the other man's identity until they were about 5 meters apart. His eyes were undeniably the same ones from the hologram. Right down to the mild panic with a heavy side of distrust.

“Mr. Stark. You wanted to see me?” Bruce kept the distance between them, muscles tensed and his whole body communicating that he was barely keeping himself from running. They stood facing each other in the bright sunlight, surrounded by the sound of waves on the beach and the breeze through the trees. “... and apparently just stare.”

Tony shook his head, trying to think of how to start. He spend all this time looking for Banner, and now he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry.” It just bubbled out. Out of all the things he could have said, all the things he  _ needed  _ to say… “I should have known what they were building. I should have engineered it differently. I should have fixed it.”

Bruce stared at him, dumbfounded. Tony Stark had apparently tracked him across this arm of the galaxy to apologize for a lab accident that Bruce had caused. 

“How could it have been your fault? You weren’t there when the lab’s power systems overloaded when I tried to integrate the serum and the nanites. I rushed. I knew there was radiation leakage from the nanites, but I didn’t wait for the next batch. The Council was threatening to cut my funding, and I knew I was close.” Tony looked pained, but Bruce kept speaking. “It was my own arrogance, my absolute conviction that I knew best. Now I’m paying for it.”

Silence fell between them again. Tony had expected it to be difficult to get Bruce onboard, but he hadn’t been prepared for this. He’d spent so long blaming himself, he hadn’t considered that he may not be the only one.

“I want you to come with me. I can keep you away from The Council. I’ve got labs onboard. We can figure out exactly what’s happening with you. Let me help.” Bruce shook his head in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening. The richest man in the universe had swooped down to his tiny island, and wanted to take him away in his fancy ship.

He should say no. Being on a ship would make hiding easier, but it would also be dangerous for the people onboard. Too dangerous. He should run back into the woods, grab his bag, and get off this planet. Bruce took a deep breath, about to refuse, or run, or both, when Tony’s eyes went wide and nervous.

“Tony, we’ve got company.” Pepper’s voice sounded nervous. “The local government apparently called in our unauthorized landing and a Council ship is inbound.”

“Shit. How long have we got?” Bruce tensed further, and Tony reached out a hand in supplication.

“Not long.” That became immediately obvious as a small dropship screamed toward the beach where they stood. “Damnit. We’re coming to you.”

“That is a Council SpecOps single dropship.” Bruce sounded clinical and detached. “There are only a few operatives that use them. I need to go. Now.”

Tony closed the distance between them and wrapped his hand around Bruce’s forearm, pulling him lightly in the direction of his ship.

“Come with us. Please. I know you think it’s too risky but I’m more prepared than anyone else you could hitch a ride from. At least let me get you off planet.”

Bruce was torn, but there was no time. They heard the dropship land, just past a rocky outcropping on the beach. Luckily, JARVIS piloted in from the other direction, and the two of them took off across the beach.

Pepper had a harness on, and was leaning out the open airlock door with a pulse rifle. JARVIS kept the ship off the ground, but tilted the airlock down so the two men could leap inside. They were still 30 meters away when Pepper started shouting for them to run faster and firing her pulse rifle in wide dispersal behind them. Tony chanced a look behind him and saw a flash of red hair ducking into the treeline. Unfortunately turning caused him to trip in the sand, and if it weren’t for Bruce’s reflexes he would have face-planted hard. 

Bruce snatched Tony by the arm when he stumbled, and when Tony couldn’t get his feet back under him, just swung him up over his shoulder and ran harder. Tony made a high pitched squeak when his stomach impacted with Bruce’s broad shoulder, then just held on and tried not to panic. He could see the redhead from the dropship getting closer, using the trees as cover. 

“Hold on!” Bruce’s arm was like a band around Tony’s thighs, and then they were flying through the air through the open airlock door. Tony flailed a bit when they landed, his feet hitting the ground and causing him to slide off Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce held tight to his hips until they were both steady. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Tony’s voice was breathy… he was going to blame it on the adrenaline. “Let’s get out of here, J!”

Pepper checked to make sure the boys were safe, before scanning the beach for the woman chasing them. JARVIS was flying them out over the water, but she saw the woman sprint out of the treeline toward them. She got close enough to lock eyes with Pepper, who fired a broad  beam from her pulse rifle to stop her advance.

The woman quirked her lips in a smile, and gave a nod of concession at the loss of her quarry. Pepper grinned back and saluted with her gun, then retreated into the ship so JARVIS could close the door. The boys weren’t behind her anymore, so she stowed her rifle and harness on the rack by the airlock door, and jogged toward the bridge. 

Tony was leaned on his console, staring at Bruce who was looking at the empty bridge in wonder. Pepper walked up behind him just as the ship shuddered out of the atmosphere.

“We have successfully outrun the Council ship, but we were likely identified on their scanners. What would you like to do, Sir?” Bruce shouted and recoiled, staring at the hologram that appeared in front of him while speaking to Tony. 

“Make for the fallback point, J. Bruce? This is JARVIS - he’s the ship. JARVIS, Doctor Bruce Banner.” The hologram - JARVIS, apparently - turned to Bruce and nodded in greeting before shimmering out of view.

“Dr. Banner? I’m Pepper Potts, it’s nice to meet you.” Pepper held out her hand to shake. “The three of us have been looking for you for a long time.”

Bruce shook her hand, his lips turning up in a small smile. She smiled back before brushing past him to her console. Bruce stood awkwardly in the center of the bridge, amazed at the technology, but unsure what he was doing here. This morning he was building houses, and now he had been… rescued? Kidnapped? By a mad scientist with a sentient ship. Bruce snorted to himself at the absurdity of his position. 

“Tony, the Council ship beamed us a message before we got out of range.” Pepper flicked her fingers, and the face of a stern looking bald man with dark skin and an eye patch, appeared in the center of the room. 

“Tony Stark, this is Fury of the Council ship Helicarrier. I know you have Banner. I’m going to operate under the assumption that you are not an anti-Council terrorist, and that this is all a misunderstanding. If you bring him to me, then I can write a report to that effect… if not? Stark Industries might have some trouble with their CEO all over the bulletins as a terrorist. It’s your call. Banner, or your company?”

The message ended and there was silence on the bridge. 

“You have to bring me in. I’m not worth all this.” Bruce looked at Tony sorrowfully. Tony responded with a slightly manic grin.

“C’mon. Tony Stark - Space Pirate? I like the sound of that. Pep? Drop the press package. J? Stream it everywhere you can commandeer a screen. Add that message to the end of it - audio only, voice scrubbed. Let’s bring them out of the woodwork.” Pepper sighed, but her hands were already flying over her station.

Bruce was beyond confused. Tony and Pepper were tossing bits of data back and forth with only the barest words exchanged. They seemed to be enacting a plan, but how… what… 

“What. The hell. Is happening.” Bruce half collapsed in the empty jumpseat along the wall. Tony turned to Bruce with his arms flung out to the sides.

“We’ve been looking for you; not just because of what happened, but what we found out while researching the accident. The Council has done some very, very bad things. Tell me, Dr. Banner, how much do you know about Captain America?”

 

* * *

 

Nick Fury paced on the bridge of the Helicarrier. He supposed he should be thanking Stark for disguising his voice - but at the moment he was more concerned with the information that had just been broadcast over the galaxy. If it were true - even half of it - the Council was hiding deeper secrets than he’d known. Hill and Romanoff stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for him to calm down.

“This has Potts all over it. The flashy dispersal was all Stark, but the content? The targeting? Pepper Potts is probably the strongest weapon in Stark’s arsenal - if she is convinced, then they probably only released the stuff they could prove.” Hill sounded impressed, which was rare. 

“Also, she’s an excellent shot with a pulse rifle.” Maria smirked at the admiration in Natasha’s tone, and full out grinned when Nat turned a little pink under the scrutiny.

“Well, as I see it, we’ve got two options. We can RTB and get our orders, or…” Hill trailed off with a raised eyebrow, and Fury nodded in agreement.

“Call in all the assets we can trust, feel out the crew, figure out what we’ll need. Let’s go dark and do some research of our own.”


End file.
